Thursday, December 27, 2012

One-day Light-saber workshop with Toby MinorThis is a quick, 3 1/2 hr light-saber workshop. (I say "quick" because light-saber training is actually very comprehensive and takes years of training in the seven forms. We will mostly be focusing on the first form which is called Shii-Cho) ***To be very clear: this is stage combat class. I will be teaching how to execute these moves safely on a film set or in a play. Date: Sunday, Jan 6, 3:30-7 pmLocation: 7031 E. Hwy 290. It's just east of I35 at Berkman, a blue building with a nice big secure parking lot. Cost: $40 Please register before the class as there are only 13 slots. In order to register, please send a check to: T Minor, 1712 Barilla Mountain Trail, Round Rock, TX 78664.Light-sabers, and by extension light-saber combat, were inspired by the pirate and romantic films of the 1940s, which heavily featured rapier fencing and the like. In keeping with these romanticized depictions of fighting, the light-sabers were intended to represent the honor and chivalry inherent in the Jedi. Jedi were initially conceived as fighting with swords, but George Lucas wanted to provide them with a technological edge, and created the light-saber. His rationale was that in an era of energy weapons, light-sabers could be used to deflect the rays, giving birth to the idea of blast-deflection. Lucas wanted the earliest light-saber duels to feature a very oriental-style of fencing, reminiscent of Japanese fighting styles, which involved a great deal of honor and spirituality.We will be using single sword practice weapons, focusing on basic oriental-style fencing technique (modified slightly for the use of a light-saber) All levels of training welcome.Please RSVP to Toby at: tobywon55@gmail.com or call Toby at 512-909-0254About the instructor:Toby Minor is an actor combatant, certified with the SAFD (Society of American Fight Directors) and received his B.A. training from NMSU. He also holds black belt level in BudoTaijutsu (Ninjitsu), which makes him a real-life Ninja. Toby has choreographed fights for various shows around town, including Rose Rage with Hidden Room, Big Love with Shrewd Productions, The Three Musketeers with Leander High School, Hamlet with Austin Shakespeare and Black Swan Productions, True West with DYS theatre, I Hate Hamlet with the Georgetown Palace Theater, and Lear at the Vortex . Film Choreography credits include, among others, Haze, and Omniscience with Stage left in Chicago.